


unexpected, what you did to my heart

by louminosity



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, No Magic AU, Pre-Relationship, ella and henry are dorks and i love and miss them
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-19
Updated: 2019-05-19
Packaged: 2020-03-08 05:53:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18888484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/louminosity/pseuds/louminosity
Summary: The weeks following the party found Ella and Henry messaging each other constantly. At first the messages were about a class they shared that semester--a music history class required for their college.Henry: Please, Ella. Help me. I don't know anything about Shostakovich for the midterm.Ella: the only thing you need to remember is that he wanted to piss off stalin lol





	unexpected, what you did to my heart

**Author's Note:**

> hi so this is a snippet of a glass believer college au i've been working on; a version of this was already posted on my tumblr (louminously)
> 
> i wanted to post this here bc idk when i'll have the whole au done, and i'm lowkey proud of this, so pls let me know what you think!
> 
> title is from "at the beginning" from anastasia

The weeks following the party found Ella and Henry messaging each other constantly. At first, the messages were about a class they shared that semester--a music history class required for their college.

(Henry: _Please, Ella. Help me. I don't know anything about Shostakovich for the midterm.  
_ Ella: _the only thing you need to remember is that he wanted to piss off stalin lol_ )

But very quickly, they turned from academic topics to more personal ones.

(Ella: _you'll never convince me that pineapple should go on pizza_  
Henry: _But the contrast in flavors!_  
Ella: _bUt ThE cOnTrAsT iN fLaVoRs! *insert spongebob meme here*_  
Henry: _Did you really just put "insert Spongebob meme here"?_  
Ella: _listen i was too lazy to make the meme myself_ )

* * *

One day, a semester after the party, Henry search the library for Ella. He craned his neck, trying to look past all the students fervently studying for finals, finishing last minute papers, or procrastinating on those things. He finally found her in one of the library's study rooms. Her laptop, several papers, and books were strewn across the table. Ella's head was down on the table in defeat.

Henry popped his head into the room and said, "You know, I find it helpful to type words to get an essay done."

Ella casually flipped him off as she sat up. In response, Henry merely gave her a bemused expression as he fully entered the room and leaned against the wall. Her eyes glared at the half-typed essay on her laptop, as if it were the one at fault for not being finished. 

"If I have to explain how _The Prince_ isn't satirical one more time, I will actually murder someone. Remind me why and how you convinced me to take a Renaissance literature course with you this semester?"

Henry tried to hide his grin. "One, because I knew that, if given the chance, you would put off your writing requirement until senior year and as an English literature major and your...friend," if Ella noticed the hesitation in Henry's voice, she didn't react. "I will take any advantage I can to suffer through a class with someone I know." Ella rolled her eyes.

"Two, because the Renaissance is a period full of enriching culture and society--" Ella grumbled something along the lines of I'd like to enrich someone else's society.

"And three, because I knew I could bribe you with the most coveted snacks in the land... well, on this side of the state."

Ella turned to squint at Henry, to really look at him for the first time since he arrived. She noticed that he had both hands behind his back. "Would these snacks happen to included coffee from Zelena's?" she asked, her voice laced with hope.

"You got it. I even added an extra shot of espresso and Tiana graciously let me take some extra beignets she was saving for her upcoming orders," Henry said, placing the items on the table, staying clear of all of her study materials. He conveniently forgot to mention that he had to beg Tiana for the beignets and that she only let him take some after she found out why he needed them.

Ella swooped in to grab the coffee and sighed in relief. "Oh, thank God. You are a lifesaver, Henry Mills."

"Anything for my favorite engineering major."

Ella snorted while savoring the warmth emanating for the coffee to-go cup. "I'm probably the only engineering major you know, let alone talk to."

"That's probably true," Henry admitted, sheepishly running his hand through his hair. He sat next her and a fond expression overtook his fave as he watched her blissfully inhale her coffee.

"Was there anything else you needed other than gloating about your superior writing skills?" Ella asked, glancing at him while grabbing a beignet. She was careful to not spill powdered sugar on her laptop. She hoped the clunky, old thing would last until graduation, but that was becoming less likely with each passing day.

As she took a bite, some powdered sugar stuck onto her lip without her noticing. However, Henry couldn't focus on anything else but that. After a slightly significant pause, Ella snapped her fingers in front of Henry's face and said, "Hellooo? Earth to Henry Mills?"

Henry snapped out of it, his cheeks pink. "Oh, sorry. It's just that you have some sugar on your lip," he said.

Ella started and fumbled in finding a napkin, but Henry interrupted her. "Here, let me get it."

He leaned in closer and all Ella could do was to hold her breath as she watched Henry use his thumb to gently wipe off the excess sugar. Even when there wasn't any sugar left, neither of them pulled away, as if they were magnets with polar opposites, helpless to the forces pulling them together.


End file.
